‘Every Word Kept, Counts’ in ‘Majd and the Librarian’, an animated short film from AECB

‘Majd and The Librarian’ tells the story of a young boy borrowing a book from his local library and forgetting to return it, only to rediscover the book many years later. The opening sequence features a young man finding a dust-covered copy of ‘The Arabian Nights’ in a box whilst clearing out his attic, which takes him back in time to the library where he borrowed it as a child, reminding him of the kind librarian who had encouraged him to take an interest in reading. As an adult, he returns to the library where the male librarian has been replaced by a young woman, who opens a locker to reveal a pile of books and a note left to the boy by the old man with the message: ‘Every word kept. Counts’. No dialogue is necessary in this touching animation, which sensitively and simply recounts the story as an allegory for borrowing something and keeping your word to return or pay it back. 

The film was directed by Esfandiar Haji and Shahriar Ghatre at Production Company Hanzo Films with animation by Vulturehead studio.

The Al Etihad Credit Bureau (AECB) started operations in late 2014. Today, 70 entities provide credit information in a recurrent manner and 95 entities subscribe to the AECB’s services, which feature a robust database of 4.5 million individuals.

Most people visit AECB customer happiness centres as a result of being rejected for a loan or credit card. All banks and finance companies in the UAE analyse individual credit reports and scores before making the decision to approve or reject an application for new credit. It is, hence, crucial for individuals to review their credit reports before committing to new financial obligations.

CREDITS

Agency:  Serviceplan Middle East

Client: Al Etihad Credit Bureau

Title: ‘The Librarian’

Serviceplan Middle East:

Managing Director :Natalie Shardan

Head of Strategy :Frances Valerie Bonifacio

Executive Creative Director :Akhilesh Bagri 

Writers:

Akhilesh Bagri

Georgia Fattoracci

Creative Directors:

André Couto 

Saleh Elghatit

Art Directors:

Kenneth Barnes

Kunal Gagwani

Serviceplan Group:

Worldwide Executive Creative Director: Jason Romeyko

International Communications Officer: Lee Sharrock

Production company: Hanzo Films 

Executive Producer:  Hijaz Moosa

Animation: Vulturehead studio

Directors:

Esfandiar Haji 

Shahriar Ghatre

Production Manager: Elahe Khalili

Communications Manager:Yasaman Hossein

Music Composer:Saman Aboutaleb

Character Animators:

Reyhane Mirhashemi

Hadi Tabas

Babak Arjmand

Niloofar Behbud

Ali Honarpour

Esfandiar Haji

Yasaman Hossein

Shadow and Lighting Animators:

Naim Vahidian

Esfandiar Haji 

Client: Al Etihad Credit Bureau

Daniele Lavalle - Head-Business Development

Khalid Mohammad - Senior Manager – Marketing

Maitha Ahmed - Senior Marketing Officer

Khulood Hamad – Marketing Officer